


Communication Problems.

by The9thDoctor



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Aliens, Case Fic, M/M, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-01
Updated: 2011-11-01
Packaged: 2017-10-25 14:22:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/271250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The9thDoctor/pseuds/The9thDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jack vanishes on board an alien spaceship, it's up to Ianto to get him back, but naturally he encounters a few problems along the way...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Communication Problems.

“Is this important?” asked Jack, one arm in his coat sleeve. He looked quite harassed already, but Gwen had drawn the short straw and was determined to go through with it, if only to prove to Owen that she wasn’t going to chicken out of giving Jack bad news. 

“Ummm. Sort of.” she admitted. 

Jack’s face fell. “Is it likely to be important for more than say…” he glanced at his watch, “Half an hour?” 

Gwen bit her lip. “Probably.” she said finally. “Why? Got a hot date?” she asked, gesturing to Jack’s smarter-than-usual outfit. 

Jack stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. “Weevil hunting with Ianto.” 

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d want to climb around dirty warehouses in your dress shoes and best waistcoat.” 

Jack glared. “Why are you here, Gwen?” 

“Tosh picked something up. Looks like a cruiser. They're sending a distress call and scans say that they've been hit by a meteorite or something. Anyway, they're coming towards us – already past the exclusion zone and the trajectory plots say the ship will come down just on the edge of the Beacons." 

Jack sighed. “I’ll get changed. You get the SUV ready. Ianto can stay here to control.” 

Gwen nodded and headed back out to the Hub to tell everyone the good news. 

~ ~ 

A few hours later they pulled up outside a seemingly empty field. Tosh pulled out her portable scanner and peered at it. “It’s definitely here.” she said, waving a hand in the general direction of the centre of the field. “Their cloaking device in still on, thank goodness, or we wouldn’t be able to move for sightseers.” 

Jack nodded. “Right. I’ll go and see what they want. You guys stay here.” 

“Jack…” began Gwen. 

Jack cut her off. “ALL of you.” he said firmly. “We don’t know why they’re here. They could be dangerous.” 

“In that case, shouldn’t we all go? For back up?” 

Jack sighed and gave Gwen a long-suffering look. “You know, for once I’d like you to do what I ask without arguing about it.” he pointed at the patch of grass at Gwen’s feet. “STAY THERE!” Jack ordered, before striding off away down the field. 

Gwen folded her arms. 

“Never mind.” said Tosh consolingly. “He’s just cross because he had to cancel his date. He had a table booked at the Ritz and everything. I wonder who the lucky girl was…” 

“By the sound of it earlier,” smirked Owen, patting Tosh on the shoulder, “The lucky girl was either going to be Janet or Ianto.” 

~ ~ 

Jack walked purposefully down the field to where Tosh had picked up the ship on her equipment. Hopefully this would be the alien equivalent of a flat tyre – a quick and easy job that got him back to the Hub as quickly as possible so that he could work his way through the list of ‘Reasons why staying in is much more fun than going to a poncy restaurant.’ He’d thought of several more on the ride over and thought that Ianto might appreciate the innovations. 

As transporters went, it was quite a smooth one, just a brief feeling like walking through four-dimensional custard and the field vanished. 

~ ~ 

“SHIT!” screeched Gwen as Jack disappeared in front of them. She started forward but Owen grabbed her arm. 

“Hold on.” he said, pulling her back towards the SUV. “We have no idea what happened.” 

“Jack’s GONE!” Gwen cried. 

“Yes, and for all we know he asked to go aboard the ship. We can’t just go rushing over there without knowing.” 

Gwen sagged. “You’re right.” she sighed. 

“’Course I am.” said Owen smugly. “Come on Tosh, I know for a fact that the Tea-Boy gave you a Thermos of coffee and some biscuits before we left.” 

~ ~ 

Ianto had taken off his jacket, loosened his tie and propped his feet up on Owen’s desk. It was a shame about the date, but business before pleasure and all that. At least he was pretty sure that Jack would make it up to him later in a variety of interesting ways. Besides, he had a whole pizza to himself and the special edition of ‘Casino Royale’ on DVD to watch, so it wasn’t all that bad. He glanced back from the movie to the comms scan running on the next monitor over. The four dots were flashing away merrily. He took another slice of pizza and promptly dropped it in his lap as one of the dots abruptly vanished from the screen. 

“Bugger.” he whispered under his breath. 

~ ~ 

Jack glanced around at the ship. It didn’t *look* like the advance guard of an alien invasion fleet, but it never did to be too complacent in these kind of situations. He pressed a button on his Vortex manipulator to scan the interior properly.

As it did its job, he bounced up and down on his heels experimentally. Gravity seemed similar to Earth’s, which narrowed it down a bit, but unfortunately it failed to rule out several species of bloodthirsty races that had access to the particular kind of fusion drive that powered the ship. His manipulator glowed faintly and Jack glanced down at it. To his knowledge he had never come into contact with this species before, and his information stopped bluntly after a simple planet name and species ident. There was nothing to tell him what to expect from them at all. 

Suddenly a door slid gracefully open and a tall humanoid creature came through. It warbled in a high-pitched tone that Jack couldn’t identify. He glanced back down at his manipulator on his wrist. It usually translated alien languages for him – something was wrong. Was it broken? Or were the aliens blocking the connection to their translation banks? 

He narrowed his eyes. The creature moved closer and a second and third appeared in the still-open doorway. Maybe, thought Jack, leaving the others outside wasn’t a good idea after all… 

~ ~ 

Their comms crackled into life as Tosh poured three cups of coffee. Gwen put her hand up to her ear. “Jack?” she asked excitedly. 

“No, it’s me.” replied Ianto. “Where’s Jack? He’s just dropped off comm link. What’s going on?” he demanded. 

“Hold your horses, mate.” interrupted Owen. “We found the ship and Jack’s just been transported aboard. Their shields must still be active to hide the comm signal. We know their cloaking device is still active.” 

Ianto sighed. “So basically you’re telling me that Jack has vanished on board an invisible alien spaceship. One that we know absolutely nothing about.” 

Owen rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’s fine. Don’t get your pretty Welsh knickers in a twist.” 

“Yeah. Okay… Just one question though.” replied Ianto in a pleasant tone of voice that Torchwood Three had all come to fear. “How the HELL can you be sure it’s still there if it’s invisible?!” 

“Ah.” 

~ ~ 

Jack raised his hands in a placatory gesture. “Woah there. Let’s not do anything hasty.” he said with a broad smile. “I’m Captain Jack Harkness. From Torchwood.” 

The creatures burbled excitedly at this. 

“I’m just here to help you fix your ship and help you on your way. Nothing to worry about!” he had no idea if the aliens could understand him or not, he just hoped it sounded non-threatening. 

The alien seemed to reply to this and then circled around behind him, nudging him towards the door and the other two aliens. Jack took a deep breath. “Right then.” he muttered to himself. “This might get awkward.” 

~ ~ 

“The scanner says the ship might still be there.” said Tosh, pressing buttons on the scanner. 

“Might!?” yelled Ianto. 

“Yes, well… It seems that they can deceive our equipment. There’s a faint signal, but it could just be an echo.” Tosh held the screen out for Owen to check. 

“Well, that’s just brilliant.” muttered Owen. “What are we supposed to do now?” 

“We should go and get him back!” said Gwen, loudly. 

“And how do you suggest we do that?” asked Owen. “You wanna volunteer to go and knock on the door of the big unknown spaceship that might not actually BE there and ask for our Captain back because it’s time for his tea and we’re worried about him?” 

Gwen glared at him “We have to do something. We can’t just leave him there… God knows what they’re doing to him.”

“Ianto?” asked Tosh, over the familiar sound of Gwen and Owen gearing up for a good old-fashioned argument. “Have you got any more tech in the archives that can perform a deeper scan? I think our first task should be to work out if Jack is actually still there or not.” 

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to go and check.” Ianto replied doubtfully. 

“You do that.” 

“And you three need to stay there.” said Ianto. “I mean it, don’t move a muscle. I don’t want to come back here to find all you lot have vanished as well.” 

“We promise.” replied Tosh. “We won’t go anywhere.” 

“Good. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” 

There was a click as Ianto disconnected the call. Gwen, Owen and Tosh exchanged glances. 

“Don’t know why we’re all so worried about him.” mumbled Owen. “He’s probably having tea and crumpets with one of his old girlfriends…” 

Gwen slapped his arm. 

~ ~ 

Jack was ushered into what looked like the flight deck by the three aliens. There weren’t any other creatures in sight. Jack was starting to wonder if they were the only ones on board, but didn’t dare to scan for life forms while he wasn’t sure how the aliens would take it. Fiddling with his Vortex manipulator if the aliens thought he was hostile might not be the best move. He didn't want to cause an interplanetary incident. Not again. 

“So…” he said, smiling so hard he thought the top of his head might fall off. “What do we do now, guys? You want me to take a look at your computer?” 

The first alien squeaked at him at length. Jack scratched his head. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.” he took a half step towards the nearest bank of computers. One of the aliens held an arm out to stop him. Jack halted and pulled back quickly. The first creature burbled softly and waved one of the long yellow fronds on his head at him. Jack peered at it. It had *sounded* sympathetic, but there didn’t seem to be any way to be sure. He wondered vaguely how the others were getting on. Hopefully they didn’t do anything stupid after they saw him disappear. 

~ ~ 

Ianto rooted frantically through a cardboard archive box. The faded label on the side claimed that it contained a ‘Deep cloaking scanner – handheld’ which seemed like Ianto’s best bet. He kept up a litany of ‘Please let the ship still be there… Please don’t let him have gone again… It’s too soon… Please let the ship be there…’ as he threw out several artefacts that didn’t match the description on the box. 

Finally he dragged it out. “YES!” he grinned to himself and dashed back up the stairs to the Hub. Now all he had to worry about was whether the rest of his team were still there or not. 

Fortunately, he thought, Owen was actually pretty good at staying still. 

~ ~ 

“I’ve got it!” shouted Ianto over their comms. 

“Steady on, mate,” complained Owen, “You nearly burst my eardrum…” 

“Ianto, you’re going to have to drive over here and bring the scanner with you. Fast as you can.” said Tosh, “The signal in the field is still too weak to make an accurate reading with what I have here. How quickly can you make the drive?” 

“About half an hour.” replied Ianto. “There shouldn’t be too much traffic on the roads.” 

“Brilliant.” said Tosh. “The sooner the better.” 

“No problem… I’ll just go and…” 

Whatever Ianto was about to do was drowned out by a loud, ominous, groaning noise from the field. 

“Shit!” exclaimed Gwen for the second time that night. The others looked up. 

“Ianto…” whispered Tosh, “I don’t think we’ll need that scanner after all.” 

“What’s going on?” asked Ianto nervously. “Jack’s signal hasn’t come back on my screens…” 

“The ship…” muttered Tosh in reply. “Its de-cloaked.” 

“Is there any sign of Jack?” demanded Ianto. 

“No.” replied Owen shortly. “Just the ship…” he pushed open the car door and got out. 

“What happened to staying here?” asked Gwen. 

“Sod that.” said Owen, peering back into the SUV. “I think now may be the time to go knock on the door.” 

~ ~ 

The first alien directed him to a large monitor, on which Jack could see an image of the team waiting for him inside the SUV. Jack smiled. Finally they were listening to him! 

The alien made a questioning noise. 

“That’s my team.” Jack said, pointing at the monitor. “Torchwood.” he said clearly. He finally relaxed his face. The big, stupid, friendly grin was starting to hurt. 

The yellow fronds waved back at him. 

“Yeah. That’s right. They’re with me. Torchwood.” Jack repeated. That name seemed to get the most reaction from the aliens. 

Another squeak from the first creature, and the fronds gently brushed his hair. Jack sighed. He had been right. This was not going to be easy. 

“So… What’s wrong with your ship?” he asked conversationally. 

More high pitched squeaking. 

“Because, you know, I’m missing a date for this.” continued Jack. “I mean, not that this isn’t fun and everything, but on the whole I think I’d much rather be back at the Hub. I’d bought some wine and a new pair of braces and four brand new flavours of lube especially for tonight. I didn’t even know they *made* marmite flavoured lube… And now Ianto’s going to be all grumpy because he’s missing his big fancy dinner. It’ll take me ages to convince Owen to stay the night at the Hub again. Torchwood isn’t exactly the best place to persuade people to do overtime, you do realise that, don't you?” he sighed deeply. “It could have been any night, but oh no… You had to go and crash land *tonight*… Blasted aliens…” he glared at the screen. 

One of the other aliens moved over to a computer and pressed a few buttons. Jack smiled. Maybe they were getting somewhere. 

The first alien started talking again. Jack smiled and nodded in what he hoped were appropriate places. Finally the alien paused. A frond waved in his direction again. 

“Can you just let me go?” asked Jack. “Please?” 

~ ~ 

Ianto sat frozen at the desk, panicking quietly to himself and listening to Gwen and Owen bicker. 

What the hell was happening out there? 

Suddenly, a high pitched warble came through his earpiece. “What the fuck was that?” he asked as Tosh, Gwen and Owen all asked roughly the same question. 

“I think they’re communicating!” called Tosh, excitedly. “Are you recording this?” 

Ianto pressed a button on the computer. “Yes.” 

The noise continued for a short while, before finally something happened that they all understood. Jack’s voice. 

“…Just let me go.” he said, “Please.” 

The transmission cut off abruptly before Jack could say anything else. 

“What the fuck was that?” asked Owen, after a short pause. 

“I told you Jack was in trouble.” sniped Gwen. 

“Shut UP, Gwen.” said Ianto, desperately. “I need to think.” 

It was obvious to Ianto that they needed to translate whatever it was that the aliens had said. It could have been anything, but Jack’s words at the end made Ianto think that it might have been something like a ransom demand. 

Owen had evidently come to the same conclusion. 

“We don’t know what they want…” he was saying. “They could have bloody well told us in English, couldn’t they?” 

Ianto bit his lip and stared down at the now useless scanner. He thought hard, until finally, the answer came to him in a flash of inspiration. 

“I’ve got it!” he called. “Just wait right there!” 

~ ~ 

“And now we’re at the mercy of the receptionist’s thought processes…” muttered Owen. 

Tosh glared at him. “I’m sure Ianto has a very good idea.” 

“Yeah, right… He’s probably gone to make some more coffee.” said Owen, settling himself back in the driver’s seat of the SUV. 

“Owen! Don’t be unkind.” 

Owen fished out another biscuit from the packet on the dashboard and crammed it into his mouth. “Well, what exactly is it that you expect him to do?” he asked. 

“There’s a lot of stuff in the Hub.” Tosh retorted, “Maybe he’s looking for a way of translating the alien language.” 

“Yeah, right.” 

~ ~ 

Ianto rooted through the debris left behind from his earlier search for the scanner. He knew he remembered seeing an audio translation device on the box’s list of contents. It was now just a matter of finding it. 

Finally he came up with a slim copper-coloured device that looked like a large, high-tech microphone. 

“I hope this works…” he said to himself as he turned it over in his hands. 

Once back at the desk he fiddled with the controls and replayed the tape he had made several times before he got a transcription that made sense. 

Ianto read through it carefully, before changing a few of the settings on the device. After a little while it was obvious that there was only one possible translation for the alien voice. He shook his head. If that was true, then there was a horrible chance that he might never see Jack again. 

“Tosh?” he said shakily, activating his comm. “I’ll be there in half an hour.” 

~ ~ 

The aliens nudged Jack back through the door to the flight deck and down a long corridor. Eventually he found himself in a room with a few tables and chairs. Jack began to despair of ever finding out what was wrong with the ship. At least the aliens didn’t seem too hostile, he thought, trying to look on the bright side. He prodded his Vortex manipulator, keeping on eye on the creatures in case they attacked, but he still couldn’t understand anything that the aliens were saying to him. He tried to work out why it was having so much trouble translating for him, but only managed to find out that it didn’t recognise the language base. Jack narrowed his eyes. That was suspicious in itself. He shook his head. 

The aliens took up some of the other chairs around the same table. Jack squirmed in his seat. They obviously hadn’t designed them for human physiology. 

One of them provided a platter of gooey orange lumps from somewhere and proffered them to Jack. He grinned again and took a handful. The alien chirped at him and Jack took a small, cautious bite from the cube and tried not to think of eating a five course meal at the Ritz while playing footsie with Ianto under the table. 

~ ~ 

As soon as Ianto was outside Cardiff, he floored the accelerator, double checking that the translator was still on the passenger seat beside him. The message had unnerved him more than he had thought possible, but he supposed it made some kind of sense. The only question was, why hadn’t Jack explained things to the aliens already? As far as Ianto could see there were only a couple of explanations and he didn’t want to think too hard about any of them. 

He activated his comm. “Tosh? Is the spaceship still visible?” 

“Yes.” she replied nervously. “Nothing’s happening. What have you found out, Ianto? Did you decipher the message?” 

“Yes. I’m on my way to you.” Ianto overtook a Porsche at speed. “I’ll let you listen to what they have to say when I get there. It’s not good.” 

“What sort of not good?” asked Owen. “The sort of not good where the world explodes, or the other kind?” 

“There’s another sort?” broke in Gwen. 

“Yeah, you know – the one where it’s just *us* that’s in danger of dying.” 

“Ah. Right.” 

Ianto coughed. “Probably that sort.” he admitted. “I don’t think they’re here to invade, but I don’t think that being part of Torchwood is going to do us any favours right now.” 

“Does it ever?” asked Owen. 

~ ~ 

After he had finished off all of the orange goo, an alien pressed another button to let Jack see another monitor showing the team in the SUV. 

“Torchwood.” Jack said, pointing at them and then back at himself. “Torchwood.” 

More burbling from the aliens. Jack wondered why that was the only word they understood. It wasn’t as if Torchwood were well known on Earth, let alone the rest of the universe. As far as Jack knew, Torchwood wouldn’t become common knowledge for another century or so. He stood up and the aliens all looked at him. 

“I demand to know what is going on.” he said in his most commanding tone of voice – The aliens seemed to respond to body language and inflection, if not the actual words he was saying. “I’m the leader of Torchwood Three, and I need to get back to my team. There might actually be a crisis I can do something about.” 

It wasn’t as though Jack actually expected the aliens to do anything useful, so when one of them activated a control that lowered a bed from the ceiling, he wasn’t all that surprised. It gestured with a frond to prompt him to sit on it. Jack sighed and did as he was told – there didn’t seem to be any point in becoming hostile, the aliens seemed friendly enough, and Jack didn’t want to cause any more trouble. Just because he hadn’t seen any more aliens on board didn’t mean that they didn’t have a well armed invasion force hiding somewhere. The ship was certainly big enough for it. 

Jack wondered briefly if he had in fact been taken hostage, but if he had, it was probably the most pleasant hostage experience he had ever encountered. Instead, he turned his thoughts to what his team could possibly do to help. Finding a translator that worked would probably be the most useful thing they could do, but he had no idea how they would know that he needed one. He sighed again, relaxing fractionally on the bed. The monitor showing the SUV was still active. He watched as Tosh, Owen and Gwen talked amongst themselves and wondered if they had told Ianto what had happened to him. If they had, he wasn’t looking forward to the explanations he had to come. Ianto didn’t seem to like it when he went on board spaceships – For obvious reasons. 

~ ~ 

Ianto screeched to a halt next to the SUV. Tosh, Gwen and Owen all jumped out and hurried over. 

“Ianto!” called Tosh, “Thank goodness.” 

He looked over at the ship in the middle of the field. “Wow.” he said, “It’s big, isn’t it?” 

Owen rolled his eyes. “We noticed that, yes. Now, what have you found out? What’s going on?” 

“And why have they taken Jack?” added Gwen, wringing her hands together. 

Ianto reached for the translator. “I found this in the archives, it seems to be working. I used it on the broadcast signal from the ship and there was only one possible translation. It doesn’t look good for us, but I think Jack will be just fine.” 

“So what does it say?” demanded Gwen. “How do you know?” 

Ianto sighed. “I’m getting to that. Here. Read it for yourselves.” 

He handed the translator to Tosh. The other two crowded round so that they could all see the small screen on the device. 

“Press the button on the end.” said Ianto, “I already have it programmed with the transmission.” 

Tosh clicked the button and the machine instantly started warbling. Text scrolled in English across the screen. Owen read it out loud. 

“We know you are there.” he said, “and we know who you are… What are they? Aliens from the planet Horror Movie?... We have your… chattel? What does that mean?” 

“I think they mean Jack.” replied Ianto quietly. “Keep reading.” 

Owen did as he was told. “He is with us now and you will no longer be allowed to hurt him. We shall take him back to the stars where he belongs. Leave now, or we will kill you.” 

“That doesn’t sound good.” said Gwen, biting her lip. “What on earth does it mean? Hurt him?” 

Ianto crossed his arms. “Can’t you see what it means?” he asked them. “It’s obvious when you think about it.” 

“Not to me, it isn’t.” said Owen. “Are you sure this is the correct frequency?” 

“It was the only one that made sense.” replied Ianto, taking the translator out of Tosh’s hand and dropping it into his coat pocket. 

“Not that much sense.” said Gwen. “What are you talking about?” 

Ianto tutted. “It’s like this…” he said. 

~ ~ 

Jack kept a close eye on the screen. His heart leapt when he watched Ianto pull up next to the SUV. “Thank God.” he muttered to himself. 

An alien patted his knee. He looked over at it. “That’s Ianto.” Jack said, pointing at his image. “He’s from Torchwood as well, and he’s the one that’s going to be the most annoyed about you keeping me here.” 

The alien burbled and Jack folded his arms crossly. “I think I’ve been remarkably patient with you guys.” he told it. “You do realise that this is bordering on kidnapping, yeah?” 

The alien didn’t seem to reply, so Jack went back to staring at the screen. Ianto was holding out something that looked familiar. “Oh, fantastic.” said Jack, smiling to himself. “How long have we had one of those in the archives without me knowing anything about it?” 

He watched as the others crowded round the device, glancing back up at the spaceship occasionally. The translator seemed to be working. Ianto must have found the correct frequency. Jack felt a burst of pride for the young Welshman. There couldn’t be that many people on the planet who could work out how to use the machine he had found. 

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” he said, half to himself. “All I have to do now is to find a way of getting that thing in here and then I can work out what the hell you guys think you are up to…” 

~ ~ 

After Ianto had finished explaining, Owen and the others stood staring at him. “That’s ridiculous.” Owen said finally. 

“Why?” asked Ianto. “Why is it ridiculous? It makes perfect sense.” 

“It does, you know, Owen. He has a point.” said Tosh, quietly. 

“What if you’re wrong?” persisted Owen. 

“What if I’m right?” Ianto countered, “Because if I am right then that ship is about to fly away with Jack on board and this time he won’t have the Doctor to bring him back.” 

“Do you have a plan?” asked Tosh. 

“Can we use the translator to send a message back to the aliens and let them know that they have the wrong end of the stick?” Gwen said, thinking hard. 

“It’s a good idea.” Ianto agreed, “But I have no clue how to reverse the effect of the translator. I don’t even know if it’s possible. I think our only chance is to get on board the ship and find Jack.” 

“Oh, brilliant plan there, Tea-Boy. And what happens when the ship takes off and takes us with it?” 

Ianto shrugged. “That might be a chance we’ll have to take.” 

Gwen bit her lip again. “That’s too dangerous, Ianto. We can’t afford the risk.” 

“You can’t,” replied Ianto, turning away and looking up at the ship. “But I can. I have to.” 

“What are you talking about?” asked Tosh. “You can’t mean to go in there on your own – It’s a suicide mission!” 

“No, it’s not.” said Ianto firmly. “And it’s a risk that Jack would take if it was one of us trapped on there. There is no way I am leaving him to be kidnapped by a bunch of aliens acting under a misapprehension.” 

“Well, I forbid it!” said Gwen, moving to face Ianto again. 

Ianto looked up, smiling bitterly. “You forbid it?” he asked, “Oh no, Gwen. You’re not going to be ordering me about. Not this time. I am going to get Jack back if it’s the last thing I do.” 

“And what if it IS the last thing you do, Ianto? Do you think Jack will be grateful if you get yourself killed trying to rescue him with nothing more than a vague hunch and a metal stick?” 

“You’re not going to talk me out of this.” said Ianto, pulling his gun out of his waistband and checking it over. “Now, are you going to help me, or are you just going to cower in the SUV?” 

Tosh stepped forward. “What do you want me to do?” she asked. 

“Tosh!” cried Gwen, outraged. “Stop encouraging him! Owen, tell him.” 

Owen looked down at the grass and took a deep breath. “Sorry, Gwen. I’m with Ianto on this one. He’s right. Jack wouldn’t give up if it was one of us trapped in there. Whether he’s right about the translation or not, we have to do something.” 

Ianto looked up at Gwen. “And you?” 

Gwen couldn’t hold his gaze for long and looked away. “Fine.” she said, “I’ll help you get yourself killed…” 

Ianto let out a long breath. “Thank you.” he said, gratefully. “Now, I think it’s probably best if only one of us goes on board the ship, just in case.” 

“And that’s you, is it?” asked Gwen. 

Ianto nodded. “That’s me. I know how to work the translator.” 

“So should Tosh.” Gwen pointed out. 

“Tosh isn’t going.” said Ianto, firmly. “I am. And that’s final.” 

Gwen sensed that this was an argument she wasn’t going to win. “What should we do?” she asked. 

“Tosh, do you think you can accurately pinpoint the precise location that Jack vanished from?” asked Ianto. “That’s going to be the best chance of getting on board. I don’t think they’re going to roll out the red carpet for me.” 

“I… I think so, yes. I was recording the readings when he vanished, so I should easily be able to get a fix on his location.” 

“Do it. Owen, Gwen, we need to come up with a distraction. I need whatever is on board looking the other way.” 

“No problem.” replied Owen. “I’ve got an idea.” 

“Good. I’ll leave that with you then.” 

~ ~ 

Jack was now very bored. He had tried to scan the ship, but the shielding was very advanced. It almost seemed as the designers knew how his manipulator worked and specifically blocked the frequencies it was capable of scanning. Every time he tried to stand up and leave the small room to further investigate the ship, the aliens gently, but firmly, stopped him. 

He finally gave up and lay back on the bed, watching the screen. Ianto had had a long talk with the other three, and they had gone separate ways. Gwen, in particular looking very worried. He could just about make out Tosh sitting in the back of the SUV, but Ianto was fiddling with something he couldn’t see on the bonnet of his car. 

Jack wondered if they had come up with a plan, or if they were preparing for a picnic. He hoped it was the former. 

To keep his spirits up, he kept talking to the alien. He was sure by now that they couldn’t understand anything he was saying, so he wasn’t too bothered by what he said. 

He had just finished composing an epic poem eulogising the merits of Ianto’s arse, when Owen and Gwen reappeared on screen. Tosh got out of the SUV and came over to them, clutching her hand-held scanner. 

“Hello…” muttered Jack. “What have they thought of now?” Jack could recognise Torchwood Three coming up with a plan from a mile away. 

~ ~ 

“Here.” said Tosh, clambering out of the SUV and walking over to them. “This is the exact location… But it doesn’t look like it was a transporter beam at all.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Owen. “We saw him vanish.” 

“Look.” replied Tosh, holding out the screen. “I’ve plotted the co-ordinates on here and overlaid a map of the field… Can you see?” 

Ianto took it out of her hands and looked at it. “My God…” he said. “That’s a bit of luck…” 

“What is it?” asked Gwen, craning her head. 

“According to this data, Jack vanished at this point here.” said Ianto, pointing. 

“But that’s part of the ship!” 

“Exactly. It’s right on the hull of the ship. It’s not a beam – it’s a door.” 

“Of course!” shouted Gwen. “Like a force-field! Jack walked straight through it because he couldn’t see the ship. It was invisible at the time.” 

“Which means,” said Tosh, smiling, “If they haven’t closed the door, Ianto can get in – in exactly the same way!” 

“Let’s hope so.” agreed Ianto. “Now, Owen. Have you got that distraction sorted?” 

“Yeah. Gwen and I have rigged up a few things from the Weevil kit in the back of the SUV. Hopefully there’s going to be enough smoke and flashing lights to keep whatever is in there occupied while you do your James Bond impression. If we drive the cars around, you know - make them think we’re up to something – then I think we have a good chance.” 

“Then let’s get started. The sooner we do this, the quicker we can get Jack out of there.” Ianto turned to Tosh, “Can you give me your scanner?” he asked. “I think I’ll need it to find the right place to get in.” 

Tosh handed the scanner over. “Good luck.” she said. “We’re ready when you are.” 

Ianto nodded and double-checked his pockets. “Let’s go then.” 

~ ~ 

Jack watched as the team split up. Tosh and Owen leaving in the SUV and Gwen jumping into Ianto’s car. Ianto stood, staring up at the ship. 

“What’s he doing now?” wondered Jack out loud. 

A split second later, an alarm rang out and the view on the screen changed. An explosion lit up the field, sending smoke and dust flying in all directions. Jack could just about make out the black shape of the SUV driving haphazardly across the grass. He recognised the explosions as souped up versions of the smoke grenades they sometimes used to herd Weevils. Jack laughed. 

“You see…” he said to the alien hovering nervously nearby, “That’s a Torchwood plan in action…” 

The alien whistled in reply as another grenade went off. 

~ ~ 

  
Ianto was striding towards the ship, praying that their diversion was working and all the alien’s instruments were focused on the rest of the team on the other side of the field. He glanced down at the scanner Tosh had given him. He was nearly there. Taking a deep breath and checking his pockets for his gun and the translator for the final time. 

“Here goes nothing…” he said to himself, before screwing his eyes shut and taking one final step forward. 

~ ~ 

A slightly different alarm started ringing on top of the one that was already making a loud noise. 

“Oh, I hope you haven’t gone and done anything stupid, Ianto…” muttered Jack, glancing round at the alien, who was now pacing back and forth in a curiously human way. 

He watched it for a moment, keeping one eye on the screen in case the picture changed to something else. 

“What are you going to do now?” he asked it finally. “I do hope you’re not planning on doing anything nasty to them, or else I’ll be forced to stop being quite so understanding… You see, up ‘till now, you’ve only seen my good side.” 

The alien was now chattering away into what seemed to be a communication device. Jack could hear the faint reply of the other aliens coming through it. 

Jack wondered if he could sneak away in all the excitement, and stood up again. The creature that seemed to be guarding him didn’t notice. Jack took a small step towards the door. The alien had its back to him, and was still deep in conversation with its friends. Jack risked another, and then another. 

He was just reaching a hand out to the door when it slid open. Jack froze as he saw what was behind it. 

~ ~ 

Ianto gingerly opened one eye, and looked around. He was, very definitely, on board a spaceship. It was a disgusting shade of sludgy-browny-green and faintly organic looking. Ianto scrunched up his nose. Now all he had to do was find Jack. He looked down at the scanner Tosh had given him, but it didn't seem to be working. He stowed it safely in his pocket. He would have to do this the old fashioned way. 

There was one section of the wall that looked different to the rest. Ianto took the chance that it was a door of some kind. He took a nervous step forward. 

In some of his more dreamy moments he liked to imagine that his first sight of an alien spacecraft would be in the company of Jack, taking him of a grand voyage through the stars. The ships in his dreams were usually gleaming white creations, all flashing lights and sleek computer equipment. The reality appeared somewhat different. 

He took another step towards the door, feeling the comforting weight of the gun in his pocket. He realised he had no idea if the gun would prove effective against whatever was crewing the ship, but it had to be better than nothing. At the very least, it made him feel slightly braver. 

He was wondering how the hell he was supposed to get the door open when it ceased to be a problem, and he was presented with an entirely new set of them. 

 

~ ~

 

It wasn’t the sight of the two aliens that rooted Jack to the spot, but the blood-chilling sight of an unconscious Ianto slung between them. 

Jack saw red and made a quick move towards them. “If you’ve hurt him…” Jack growled, “I will kill you. I can promise you that.” 

The aliens dropped Ianto on the floor of the room. The lead alien whistled at Jack, effectively keeping him at bay. 

Jack felt his hands curl into fists as he kept his eyes firmly on the crumpled form of the Welshman. He could feel the rage that had accompanied some of his worst excesses rising in him rapidly. If the creatures didn’t let him go to Ianto soon, he knew he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. 

“Ianto!” Jack shouted, ignoring the alien that was still talking. “Ianto!” 

The young man didn’t move an inch. He must be out cold, thought Jack, trying not to think of the terrible alternative. 

“He’s from Torchwood!” he rounded on the alien that was still chirruping away next to him. It paused slightly, and then seemed to agree, tilting its head down towards Jack. 

Jack stared at it, eyes narrowed. He was so close to doing something in revenge that he could taste it. 

The alien produced something from its voluminous robes, holding it out for Jack to take. He looked down. It was a sonic blaster. 

“What the hell do you expect me to do with that?” Jack asked, his fingers itching to take it from the creature and blast it to smithereens. 

The alien gestured to Ianto, still curled, immobile on the floor. The movement could only mean one thing. 

Jack’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious!” he said, “You want me to shoot him?” 

The alien shook the gun at Jack and then back at Ianto. 

Jack shook his head. “No.” he said. “There is nothing you can do that can make me do that.” 

It made a plaintive noise, and the whistled at the other two creatures. 

Jack watched in horror as they rolled Ianto over. One of them showed Jack the pistol that Ianto carried. 

“So he was armed!” cried Jack, “He’s from Torchwood! We’re all armed!” he pulled his Webley from its holster to show them. The lead alien waved the other two away from Ianto. 

Jack took a step towards him, desperately searching for any sign of life. 

Finally he saw it. The slight movement in Ianto’s chest that confirmed that Jack’s deepest fear hadn’t come to pass. He breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Thank God…” he whispered to himself. 

Then, suddenly, one of the aliens grabbed him from behind, wrapping his fronds around his chest. They were stronger than they looked, Jack fought against them in vain. “LET ME GO!” he yelled, struggling. The alien held him tighter as its two friends crowded around Ianto. Jack had a terrible thought. One of the aliens stooped and pulled a copper device from Ianto’s coat pocket. Jack recognised it immediately. 

“The translator!” he yelled, finally breaking free from the alien’s grip. The alien holding the translator had started fiddling with it, twisting various knobs along the side. Jack reached out for it. If he could make it work, then maybe he could finally work out just what the hell was going on. 

The alien looked at Jack, and then held the device out towards him. One of the creatures started whistling again and Jack snatched it out of his grip, desperately pressing the button, hoping that Ianto had set it up correctly. 

 _“He cannot harm the thing.”_  came the translation. Jack stared at the alien.  _“He must still be under their control. Torchwood are more powerful than we thought.”_  What did that mean? 

The second alien replied.  _“We must break the mind restraint. The Agent will not be returned to them.”_  

 _“Agreed.”_  

 _“We should try to block their signal again.”_  replied the lead alien.  _“I shall try and communicate with the Agent again. We shall have our revenge, both for the Agent and for Alcslo.”_  

Jack couldn’t understand what the alien meant. Did it mean him? The Agent? Did he know these aliens? Suddenly things seemed to slot into place. The missing two years. Jack must have pissed these aliens off somehow, and now they were back for revenge – and they had Ianto. The only thing that Jack couldn’t quite fit in to his theory was the reference to mind control. Did they think Torchwood had that power? 

~ ~ 

Ianto came to slowly, trying to keep his breathing steady and his eyes closed. He could hear the alien’s musical voices, followed by a sound that made his heart leap in his chest – Jack’s voice. 

“What the hell do you expect me to do with that?” he was asking, and Ianto fought to remain still. The only thing he wanted to do was leap to his feet and give Jack the biggest hug in the world, but forced himself to stay where he was. He needed to find out what was going on before giving himself away. If the aliens thought he was still unconscious then he had an advantage over them. 

“You can’t be serious!” he heard Jack say, “You want me to shoot him?” 

Ianto felt himself go cold. What was going on? What were the aliens doing to Jack? Ianto screwed up every ounce of his courage and cracked one eye open the tiniest amount. Jack was stood a few feet away from him, staring at one of the creatures with his hand on his hips in a familiar pose. The alien shook something that looked incredibly like a high-tech gun at Jack and then at him. It seemed as though the alien was trying to get Jack to shoot him. Ianto relaxed a fraction – he didn’t think Jack would shoot. 

As though to confirm his thought, Jack shook his head and said “No. There is nothing you can do that can make me do that.” 

The alien in front of Jack spoke again, and the two that were nearest to him reached down towards him. Ianto quickly shut his eyes again as they turned him over. He tried to remain as relaxed as he could, feeling one of them reach into his pocket and pull out his gun. Shit. Now he was unarmed. 

He kept his eyes closed as Jack spoke again, shouting about him being armed and heard the aliens closest to him move away slightly. Then there was the sound of heavier footsteps – the sound of Jack’s boots. He would know that sound anywhere, how many times had he heard it in the archives? Ianto felt a tingle in his stomach and tried to force his breathing to slow down. 

Jack whispered, so quietly he wondered if the aliens had heard it, “Thank God.” 

Ianto wondered what Jack was talking about. 

Then Jack started shouting. Ianto was just about to jump to his feet when he felt the aliens bend over him again, this time to remove the translator from his other pocket. 

“The translator!” Jack yelled. Then there was a long pause before the alien started to speak. 

~ ~ 

The alien started chirping at Jack again. Translated by the device in his hands, it made Jack's blood run cold. 

 _“It's alright, Agent.”_  it was saying.  _“You are among friends now. The Torchwood is powerless here. See?”_  

The alien nearest Ianto picked him up, grabbing him under his arms. Jack saw Ianto's eyes open wide in panic. He got the feeling that he had been awake for some time. 

Although Jack still didn't have a clue about what was going on, it was clear from the alien's aggressive stance that they meant Ianto harm and Jack wasn't about to let that happen. Fuck the passive act. 

He pulled his gun again, pointing it at the creature holding Ianto. “If you touch him, I will shoot you dead right now.” he told the alien forcefully. The look on its face told Jack that the translator still wasn't working in the other direction, even before it spoke. 

 _“I do not understand, Agent.”_  it whistled.  _“We will dispose of the Torchwood for you. I predict that it will break your control.”_  

“Oh, it'll break my control, alright.” growled Jack, taking another step towards the alien and Ianto. “You okay?” he asked. 

Ianto nodded quickly. “I know what's going on, Jack!” he shouted, “The aliens, they think...”   
Ianto's captor wrapped a frond over his mouth, cutting him off. 

Jack thought fast. He needed to get the creature away from Ianto. Then an idea hit him – the sonic blaster! They had wanted him to kill Ianto before. What if he pretended to go along with the idea now? 

He took another step forward, changing his aim from the alien to Ianto, forcing back the inevitable memory that surfaced of the last time he had pointed a gun at the young man. 

Ianto's eyes widened as he saw the change. 

“Trust me.” said Jack with as much malice as he could inject into his voice. If the aliens understood the tone of his voice then he would have to put on quite an act to be believable. 

Another step forward and he was able to rest the barrel of the gun against Ianto's temple. With his other hand he pulled him roughly out of the alien's grasp. 

“Get on your knees.” Jack said, “We need to make this look convincing.” 

Ianto sank to the floor, his hands automatically going up to rest on the back of his head. Jack swallowed, painfully aware that the hand holding the gun was shaking. He hoped the aliens hadn't noticed that he hadn't released the safety catch. 

“What's going on?” he spat. 

“The aliens know you somehow.” replied Ianto, sounding as though he was begging for his life.   
Jack felt another burst of pride. He should have known that Ianto would know exactly what to do. 

“They had a friend.” Ianto continued quickly. “He was taken by Torchwood One the last time they landed on Earth. Yvonne had him... experimented on. They think we've done the same to you.” Ianto gave a panicky laugh. “They're here to RESCUE you, Jack.” 

“So what the hell is this?” asked Jack, lowering the gun slightly. 

“Your revenge.” said Ianto quietly. “They think they're doing you a favour. Letting you kill your captors.” 

“Shit.” said Jack succinctly. “How do you know all this?” 

“They sent a message. I translated it. It was the only thing that made sense.” 

“The translator!” said Jack suddenly, “If I can connect it to the circuits on my Vortex manipulator then I might be able to communicate with them.” 

“In that case, you better do it quickly,” Ianto replied. “I think your friends are getting restless.” 

Jack glanced at the aliens.  _“Do not worry, Agent.”_  one of them said,  _“If you cannot dispose of Torchwood, then we will be pleased to do it for you.”_  

~ ~ 

When the alien had grabbed him, Ianto's eyes had opened automatically in surprise. The first thing he had seen was Jack staring at him with a look that Ianto could only describe as 'confused adoration'. For a split second, Ianto wondered if Jack had thought he was dead, but was shaken from his consideration of the idea by Jack doing one of the worst things he could have possibly done in their situation. He pulled a gun on the lead alien. 

Ianto's heart leapt into his throat. If the aliens believed that Ianto was somehow controlling Jack then they were liable to kill Ianto to break the link – especially if they were being threatened. A moment later this was confirmed by the creature itself. Ianto didn't think he had been this scared since Canary Wharf. He could feel the fear threatening to overwhelm him and he grabbed hold of the one thing he knew would connect him with his surroundings and push back the metallic clanking of Cybermen – Jack's voice. 

“You okay?” Jack was asking him. 

Ianto nodded frantically. “I know what's going on, Jack!” he yelled, desperate to get the information across to Jack before he did something stupid. “The aliens, they think...” but that was all he could manage. One of the aliens wrapped something tightly over his mouth, preventing him from explaining further. 

Ianto didn't think his day could get any worse when he saw Jack's arm move, shifting the gun away from the alien behind him, and found himself staring down the barrel of his Captain and lover's gun. Maybe he had been too hasty when he had believed that Jack wouldn't shoot him. He felt sick – What if Jack wanted to be rescued? Jack could have asked them to come and pick him up – after turning down the Doctor's offer of travel, maybe Jack had changed his mind. 

“Trust me.” Jack said menacingly, advancing on him, gun pointing directly at his head. Ianto blinked. Wasn't that just the kicker, he thought, Jack asking Ianto to trust him as though Ianto had any choice in the matter. Ianto knew, just as sure as he knew his own name that the one thing he would always do would be to trust Jack. 

The gun connected with his head at the same moment that he was pulled out of the alien's grip. He wasn't entirely sure that it was an improvement, especially when Jack hissed in his ear and forced him to his knees. “We need to make this look convincing.” said Jack, “What's going on?” 

Finally Ianto understood – Jack had no idea of the alien's intentions. He was just as much in the dark as Ianto had been. Was this Jack's idea of a plan? 

There just wasn't enough time, thought Ianto. He needed to explain everything to Jack as quickly as possible. He summarised the message he had translated – skipping over the accusations of torture, made all the more horrific by the idea that some of them were true. Ianto had made it a point never to ask what happened in the euphemistically named 'Alien Hospitality Suite' at Canary Wharf, not since he had walked past it once and caught a burst of pained screaming that kept him awake for the next couple of months until a whole new nightmare happened. 

Ianto could feel the terror rising again and forced it back. “They're here to RESCUE you.” he sobbed, hoping Jack wouldn't realise that that was his greatest fear. 

~ ~ 

Keeping a loose grip on his gun, Jack held up a hand to the alien that had spoken. He hoped to God that it would understand the motion and refrain from snapping Ianto's neck the moment his back was turned. He didn't know how long it would take to tune the translator into his manipulator without examining it properly. 

“Any ideas, Ianto?” he muttered. 

“Hit me.” Ianto replied. 

“WHAT?!” Jack almost dropped the gun in surprise. 

“I said, hit me.” repeated Ianto, “They want you to, after all...” he made a small gesture towards the lead alien. The one closest to them growled. 

“I'm not going to hit you, Ianto. Especially not because they want me to.” 

“Hit. Me.” Ianto ground out, “If you knock me out then they might not try anything while you try fixing the translator. Look, they think I'm controlling you, that you can't do anything to hurt me. They want to do it for you and quite frankly, I would much rather be knocked out than get tortured to death by a load of aliens.” 

Jack wavered, he knew Ianto had a point, but was reluctant to do anything that would hurt the Welshman. “You're sure?” he asked. 

“I'm sure. Just do it, fix the translator and get us all out of this bloody mess.” 

“Right. Move nearer the bed.” said Jack gesturing to where he had dropped the translator earlier. “I don't want to have to take my eyes off you.” 

“Do you ever?” asked Ianto, light-heartedly, shuffling over to the bed. 

“How can you be so calm about this?” asked Jack, facing Ianto and looking him in the eye. 

Ianto smiled. “Calm? You think I'm calm?” he replied, shakily. “Please Jack, just do it before I throw up.” 

“You realise I'm going to feel REALLY sorry for this later.” 

“And I'm sure you'll think of some way of making it up to me. Now. Do it NOW!” 

Jack raised his arm, shifting his grip on his gun to hold the barrel. He looked at Ianto, sitting on the bed with, staring at him with total trust. Ianto whispered to him, and Jack took one deep breath before bringing the butt of the Webley down hard on the side of Ianto's head. 

~ ~ 

The idea had come to Ianto in a flash as soon as the alien had spoken. It was obvious now – the aliens wanted revenge and they wanted Jack to be the one that carried it out, thanks to some kind of loyalty or agreement. It was going to be the only thing they would understand until Jack tried to get the translator tuned properly. 

He had to try something, he was aware that if they wasted any more time the aliens would lose patience and kill him before whisking Jack out into the stars. 

In some ways he found Jack's unwillingness to hurt him very comforting, but he knew it had to happen. Jack asked him to move to the bed. “I don't want to have to take my eyes off you.” he said. 

Ianto smiled, Jack had said things like that to him before, usually before running off to save the world. He knew Jack meant what he said each time, but knew in his heart that sometimes it just wasn't possible. 

He tried to smile, it came out like a weak thing, and Ianto could feel it slipping away as soon as it appeared. “Do you ever?” he asked. If felt strange to be the one reassuring Jack. 

“How can you be so calm about this?” asked Jack, sounding about as close to hysteria as Ianto felt. In fact he felt so scared that he barely registered what he said next, trying to control his breathing as he settled himself on the bed and bracing himself for what was coming. He had absolute faith in Jack and his ability to fix this – Ianto had never known a situation, no matter how dark things had seemed at the time, that Jack couldn't fix. Maybe it was foolish to put so much faith in one man, who was still, after all, just a human, but it was part of his very being. 

Yes, Jack would work something out, and send the aliens on their way. Everything would be fine. He'd take Ianto back to the Hub and Ianto would spend a few minutes trying to persuade him to go to his flat, citing a home cooked meal and a power shower as incentives. Jack would pretend to resist and then crumble as soon as Ianto whispered a few choice words about the softness of his mattress compared with Jack's meagre camp-bed. 

This terrible evening would end with the two of them safe and warm, curled up together in Ianto's bedroom, not with Jack on board an alien spacecraft and Ianto cold and dead in a field. 

He looked up at Jack, he looked pained, and had turned his gun around. Ianto looked deep into his eyes, trying to replace it with an image of Jack in the shower of his flat, orgasmic and panting. 

“I trust you.” he whispered to Jack, and then everything went black. 

~ ~ 

 _“I knew you could break your control, Agent.”_  said one of the aliens approvingly, as Jack gently stroked Ianto's hair. He lay slack on the bed and Jack couldn't quite believe that he had been the cause of it.  _“Would you like us to dispose of it?”_  

Jack looked up at the aliens, crowded round the table in the centre of the room. He glared at them. “No.” he said bitterly. “No, I don't want you to dispose of 'it'. And he's not an 'it'. He's Ianto.” he trailed a finger down the side of Ianto's face and then picked up the translator. He needed to get it working now. It was the only thing that would get them out of this mess. 

One of the aliens took a step forward.  _“Our instruments tell us that the Torchwood is not yet deceased.”_  he whistled. _“It is merely unconscious.”_  

“I know that!” said Jack, half to himself as he flipped open the cover of his wrist strap. He needed to connect the translator device to it, but that meant finding the right energy conversion adaptor. 

His mind was going at what felt like a thousand miles an hour. The one thing that he wanted to do – get up and punch the creature in the face – was not an option right now, he knew if he was going to get away from this with Ianto in one piece he would have to get the translator working and explain what was going on. Ianto's last words to him before Jack had hit him with the butt of his pistol rang in his ears, spurring him on. They both had to get out of this alive so that he could pursue that particular avenue of conversation further. 

He worked quickly, there HAD to be a way of making it work. His vortex manipulator was 51st Century technology, and he now knew that the copper coloured device in his hands was concurrent with the 27th Century. The Time Agents who had designed the wrist strap would have made sure to provide a link with it somewhere along the line. 

He scrolled quickly through the options, desperately searching through the thousands of different connections. 

From out of the corner of his eye he saw the lead alien take a step closer.  _“Do not worry, Agent,”_  it said, bringing out the Sonic Blaster from under his robes.  _“If you are unable to complete termination of the Torchwood, we are pleased to be able to do it for you.”_  

Jack went cold as the alien raised the Blaster. The world narrowed to those three things. The alien, the Blaster and Ianto, lying comatose on the bed. He stared, unaware of anything else in the room. 

“NO! STOP! Christ, please Stop! You don't understand what you're doing!” he yelled, throwing himself sideways in front of Ianto at the exact same moment that the alien pulled the trigger. 

~ ~ 

“What the fuck is he doing in there?” demanded Gwen, pacing back and forth between the SUV and Ianto's car. 

“Calm down, for heaven's sake.” said Tosh. “I'm sure he's fine.” 

Gwen sighed and leant against the bonnet staring up at the ship. “It's been over an hour. What if something has happened to him? He said it himself, they're after Torchwood, not Jack.” 

Owen levered himself out of the drivers seat and moved to stand in front of her. “Do you really think that Jack would let ANYONE hurt even a hair on the Tea Boy's head?” he asked. 

Gwen sniffed and shook her head. “No.” she conceded, “I know he wouldn't, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about it.” 

Owen patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, but was saved from having to do any more comforting by Tosh. 

“Something's happening!” she called. 

~ ~ 

Jack gasped his way back into life, the phantom pain of his heart restarting made his chest ache. He fumbled for several seconds, trying to remember where he was and what had happened to him this time. 

His eyes shot open as the memories came back to him. The alien had shot him with the Blaster. A shot that had been meant for Ianto. 

He had died in Ianto's place, but there was no telling how long he had been away. All Jack knew was that even if it had been his shortest period of death, there would have been ample time for the alien to let off another shot, this time one that wouldn't miss Ianto. 

“IANTO!” he shouted, sitting bolt upright. The aliens had obviously moved him off the bed, the hard floor cold underneath him. He looked around the room, wildly. The aliens were all staring at him, Jack couldn't bring himself to care what they thought of him. Not while he didn't know what had happened to Ianto. The Welshman was his priority now. 

Jack staggered to his feet, moving over to the bed. Ianto lay on his side, just as he had left him. He could sense the aliens getting up and moving to stand with him at the bedside. 

 _“You are alive, Agent. We do not understand.”_  

“Yeah? You're not the only one.” replied Jack faintly, he was frozen to the spot, unable to reach out and touch the body on the bed, in case Ianto was already cold. That would tip him over the edge, he was sure of it. 

 _“Then what has happened to you for this to be so?”_  asked the alien, gently placing one of the fronds on his shoulder. Jack shook it off roughly. 

“I met the right sort of Doctor.” Jack replied, biting his lip. 

 _“The Doctor of time and space? We know of him.”_  

That shook Jack out of his shock. “You understand me?” he asked. “The translator is working...” 

 _“We do. We apologise, but our language banks were damaged in the crash. We were unable to communicate.”_  

Jack shook his head. “It's too late.” he whispered. 

The frond rested back on his shoulder,  _“We did not harm it.”_  the alien said gently. 

Jack stared at the creature. “What?” he said, unable to believe what he was hearing. 

 _“You said we did not understand.”_  it replied.  _“You were terminated, but we thought it best to interrogate this one so that we could understand.”_  

“He's still alive?” asked Jack. “You didn't shoot?” 

 _“It is unharmed.”_  confirmed the alien. 

Jack turned back to the bed, finally daring to reach out to Ianto. He touched his face again. The skin there was warm and soft. Jack breathed a sigh of relief. 

 _“Your control is strong, to sacrifice yourself in such a way.”_  

“I'm not being controlled by them.” Jack said, tracing his knuckles down Ianto's cheek. It was ridiculous, they had never been a couple – sure, they had sex, a lot of sex, all over the Hub, whenever possible, but that wasn't a basis for a relationship. However, standing here over Ianto he could recall with pinpoint accuracy the sheer terror he had felt when he had believed him to be dead. He wanted Ianto to wake up. Jack needed to see him awake before that feeling vanished completely. 

~ ~ 

Ianto swam towards the light. His head was killing him. He would have to have words with Jack about his idea of a diversion. There was a heavy weight on his chest, and Ianto slammed back to full conciousness. 

“Jack?” he murmured, struggling to sit up, groggily opening his eyes. “You saved the day yet?” Jack's face came into focus. He was smiling, which Ianto decided to take as a good sign. 

“Of course I have.” replied Jack, taking Ianto's hand. “Don't tell me you doubted me back there...” 

Ianto smiled back and squeezed Jack's hand. “Maybe once or twice.” he replied. 

Jack pouted. “Fat lot of good you are for my ego, Mr Jones...” 

Ianto became aware of something else moving in the room behind Jack. He looked over his shoulder. The aliens were gathered together. One of them held the futuristic gun, pointing it at him. 

“Jack?” he asked, slowly. “Is the translator working?” 

“Yes...” 

Ianto pointed with his free hand and Jack snapped his head round to watch the creatures. “You're not going to shoot me again, are you?” he asked. Ianto made a mental note to ask about the 'again'. 

The alien didn't lower the gun and Ianto pulled fractionally closer to Jack. 

 _“You said we did not understand, Agent. You will tell us?”_  The way the alien said it made it sound more like an order than a request. 

Jack nodded. “I did, and I will. Just as soon as you put that Blaster down.” 

The alien seemed to hesitate.  _“You are able to control the Torchwood?”_  it asked, sounding puzzled. 

“I don't need to.” replied Jack, “Now, put the gun away.” 

Ianto pulled himself slightly further up the bed. “You don't have anything to fear from me.” he said, trying to stop with the damsel-in-distress act. “It's not what you think.” 

 _“You are Torchwood. You had the Agent under your control. Explain.”_  

“We don't have Jack... the Agent under our control. If anything we're under his control.” Ianto could almost feel Jack's smirk at that statement. “We're not the Torchwood you have heard about. He's with us of his own free will.” 

 _“Our scans show that you have been in contact with one of our species before.”_  said the alien, advancing on them. _“You are Torchwood. You kill our kind. The Agent is in danger from your lies.”_  

Ianto swallowed dryly. It was true, after all, or rather it had been true. Trust Yvonne's 'if it's alien, it's ours' mentality to come back to haunt him. He'd been a researcher, for God's sake – he'd spent all his time in the deeper levels of the archives and moving files between offices. The torture and murder of alien species hadn't exactly been part of his job description. 

“Your scans?” said Jack quickly, standing up. “Then scan me.” 

The aliens glanced at each other.  _“Scan you, Agent? What should we scan for?”_  

“Scan me for mind control!” Jack said, forcefully. “Because I can guarantee that you won't find any.” he took another small step towards the aliens. Ianto realised he was shielding him from the gun. “I bet you didn't even bother looking, did you?” 

 _“You arrived with Torchwood.”_  the alien explained.  _“You are a Time Agent. You should not be here in this time.”_  

“I haven't been a Time Agent in a very long time.” said Jack, dangerously, “and this Torchwood is separate from the one that took your friend.” 

 _“The Agent is correct.”_  said one of the other aliens, looking down at a piece of technology.  _“There is no control present.”_  

Ianto threw his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself up, steadying himself with a hand on Jack's shoulder. “Will you let us go?” he asked. Jack turned his head to look at him, but Ianto didn't look away from the aliens. “Are there any repairs you need to make to your ship?” 

 _“The automated systems will deal with most of them.”_  replied an alien. Ianto got the feeling he was being dismissed. _“Do you require transport, Agent? We can take you to the nearest space port if you are unable to leave the planet.”_  

Although Ianto knew that Jack had returned from his travels with the Doctor, he still wasn't entirely sure if Jack truly wanted to stay here on Earth, with Torchwood... with him. He took his hand away from Jack's shoulder, and folded his arms across his chest. He didn't own Jack. He could do whatever he wanted. 

~ ~ 

Owen, Tosh and Gwen watched as the ship wavered slightly in the air and vanished. The only thing that was left was Ianto, standing alone in front of where it had been. As they watched, he started walking towards them with his head bowed. 

Gwen ran forward, Owen and Tosh following behind. 

“Ianto!” Gwen shouted, “What's happened to Jack? What the hell have you done?” 

“Oh, bad thing to say...” muttered Owen under his breath to Tosh as they hurried to catch up with the ex-policewoman. 

Ianto didn't reply. Not until they were all together. 

Owen looked him over. Aside from a rapidly darkening bruise and a trickle of blood at his temple, Ianto seemed unharmed. “I'll want to take a look at that later.” he said, pointing to the injury. 

Gwen was still glaring at Ianto, her arms folded. “What have you done with Jack?” she demanded. 

Owen wondered when they had slipped into the parallel universe that had made him the compassionate one. 

“What makes you think I've done anything to him?” asked Ianto, standing his ground. “You don't trust me to spend an hour on my own with him without thinking I've, what... killed him?” Ianto pushed past Gwen and continued on his way back to his car. Gwen followed. 

“Well then, where IS he, Ianto?” she said, catching at the back of his coat. “If you haven't noticed, the bloody ship's vanished again and Jack still isn't here.” She yelled angrily. “Listen to me, Ianto. What have you done? Betrayed him again?” 

Right up until that moment, Owen had always assumed that Ianto was more the passive-aggressive type. Sure, there had been that small moment when he had shot him, but they had talked about that over a beer or two while Jack had been away and Owen had grudgingly accepted the fact that it had probably been necessary at the time. Owen had been convinced, totally taken in by Ianto's silent coffee making and well-timed, if not particularly subtle humour. He used to call Jack 'Sir' for fuck's sake. 

Which is why Owen was pretty much shocked when Ianto whirled round, forcefully knocking Gwen's hand away. “Shut the fuck up about things you don't understand, Gwen Cooper!” he yelled. “Who the hell do you think you are anyway?” 

Gwen looked just as stunned as Owen felt, her eyes wide and unbelieving. Ianto raised a hand, an accusing finger pointing in Gwen's face. “Oh, yes. You think you're so bloody amazing. All 'look at me, I work for Torchwood'... Well you just listen to me. I've worked for Torchwood since you were still directing traffic, you stupid woman. I know what Torchwood does to people. I've lost more to this job than you will EVER understand. You have NO RIGHT to accuse me of anything, least of all betrayal.” Ianto narrowed his eyes and glanced around, back to Tosh and Owen. Owen felt himself take an involuntary step backwards. “None of you do.” 

With that, Ianto turned back to the car and continued walking. 

Owen raised an eyebrow. “Well, don't look at me!” he hissed. “You started it.” 

Gwen looked as though she was about to stamp her foot like a five-year old. 

Tosh sighed. “I'll go and talk to him then...” she said, shoving her hands in her coat pockets and following Ianto. 

Gwen and Owen exchanged glances. Gwen opened her mouth to speak, but Owen shook his head. “Best not, eh?” he said, before setting off after Tosh. 

~ ~ 

Ianto wrenched his car door open and threw himself into the driver's seat before Tosh caught up with him. 

“Ianto?” she asked, nervously. 

Ianto didn't look up, just sat with his hands on the steering wheel. He sighed. “I'm sorry for shouting.” he said finally. 

“What's going on?” she asked. “What *has* happened to Jack?” 

Ianto pulled his seatbelt over his chest. “I'll tell you back at the Hub.” he said, still refusing to look up at her. Gwen and Owen were growing closer. “See you later.” 

He pulled the door closed, ending the conversation and pulled away, turning out of the field and roaring off down the lane. 

“Did he just run away?” asked Gwen, reaching Tosh. 

Tosh bit her lip. “He said he'd explain back at the Hub.” she said quietly. 

“What about Jack!” wailed Gwen. 

“I... I think Jack's staying here.” Tosh replied. 

Owen shut his eyes. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse... 

~ ~ 

The Hub was silent, except for the muted sound of Ianto's DVD. Everyone else had gone home, leaving him to re-heat his pizza and settle in Jack's office to continue his film. He scowled slightly as he remembered Gwen's words to him. It still stung – after everything that had happened since Jack had disappeared with the Doctor – it didn't seem as though she fully trusted him. Hell, for members of an organisation who regularly relied on each other for their lives, there was remarkably little trust altogether. 

But this hurt more than he thought possible. He wasn't sure how Gwen could be so blind, to think that he would do anything to Jack. 

He sighed deeply and turned his attention back to the movie. 

As he picked up another slice of pizza, two hands came up to cover his eyes. 

“Guess who!” 

“You're back early. Have you finished?” 

Jack pulled out his other chair as Ianto paused the DVD. “Yeah, there was less to fix than they thought. Just a bit of tweaking and the automated systems did the rest. They're gone now.” 

“I saw.” replied Ianto, “I had it on the monitors... I wondered...” he tailed off, unsure of what to say. 

Jack snagged Ianto's half-eaten slice. “You wondered if I'd gone with them?” 

Ianto shrugged. “It had crossed my mind.” he admitted. 

Jack chewed thoughtfully. “I told them no.” he replied quietly. “And I meant it.” 

“You weren't tempted?” 

“Oh, hell no.” Jack replied with a laugh, he leant forwards, running a hand up Ianto's arm and coming to rest at the back of his neck. “You, versus a bunch of yellow tentacle-y aliens? No contest.” 

“You *like* yellow tentacled aliens.” Ianto pointed out. 

“Not half as much as I like you.” said Jack, leaning in for a kiss. 

Ianto met him half way, wrapping his arm around Jack's waist, and pulling him as close as he could while they were still sitting in their chairs. 

When they finally pulled apart, Jack's fingers found their way to the bruise and taped-up gash on Ianto's forehead. “I'm still sorry.” he said, quietly, before dropping his hand away. “Did you really   
think I would leave?” 

Ianto shrugged. “Probably not. I don't know. I'm glad you didn't though. Would've had too much to explain to the others.” 

Jack noticed the look on Ianto's face at the mention of the rest of the team. “What happened?” he asked. 

“Huh. Far too perceptive for your own good, you are.” replied Ianto. “Gwen happened. I don't quite know what she thought I'd done to you, but she could have been a bit more... subtle about asking.” 

Jack picked up Ianto's hand. “Did you explain?” 

Ianto glanced down at their joined hands and stroked his finger across Jack's palm. “Sort of.” he said, “I shouted a lot first.” 

“She probably deserved it.” agreed Jack. “Personally, I find shouting at Gwen quite therapeutic sometimes.” 

Ianto smiled. “You would.” he said, looking back up at Jack. 

Jack grinned in return, and pointed up at Ianto's head. “I believe I promised you I'd make it up to you.” 

“I'm in the middle of watching a film.” Ianto pointed out, folding his arms. 

Jack scoffed, “Oh, really?” he asked. “Are you trying to tell me something? Want me to dye my hair blond and wear a pair of swimming trunks?” 

“Christ no! Don't say things like that. You know I have an active imagination.” 

Jack raised a questioning eyebrow. “I like the sound of that...” he said, standing up and pulling Ianto up out of his chair. “And what sorts of things can you imagine for tonight?” he asked, one arm snaking around Ianto's waist and up under his untucked shirt. 

“Nothing that wouldn't pale in comparison with what you've already got planned, I'm sure.” he whispered, leaning closer to Jack. 

“Who says I have anything planned?” 

Ianto scoffed. “You? You always have something planned...” he muttered, leaning back again as Jack unbuttoned his by-now distinctly ruffled shirt. 

Jack moved forwards to nuzzle at the juncture between Ianto's neck and shoulder, a move which never failed to make him shudder. “I thought I might just... uhh... wing it.” he mumbled around tracing Ianto's collarbone with his tongue. “You know... see what crops up.” 

Ianto groaned and shifted his hips. “Mmmm... Feels as though something has cropped up already.” 

Jack chuckled around a mouthful of neck. “That? That happened a while ago.” he moved his hands lower. 

“Don't tell me... Ohhh... I knew you liked yellow tentacles more than you were letting on.” 

“Jealous?” 

“Maybe... But if you keep doing that, I'm sure I can forgive you...” 

Jack fumbled with Ianto's fly and delved his hand inside, “I'll try my best.” he muttered, before sinking to his knees and pulling Ianto's trousers to the floor with him. 

“Did I tell you how glad I am that you came back?” mumbled Ianto indistinctly, as Jack licked a broad swipe up the underside of his cock, causing him to clutch at the corner of the desk behind him. “Fuck...” 

Jack chuckled. The feel of his breath over the damp skin made Ianto's knees go weak. “You might have mentioned it once or twice.” he said, glancing up at the Welshman, who – face flushed and breathless – looked so gorgeous that Jack had to stop for a few seconds to imprint the vision on his memory. 

Ianto looked down and locked his gaze with Jack's. “The next time you go anywhere near an alien, promise me that you'll take that translator with you.” he said, his voice hitching as he spoke. “I don't particularly want to go through that again.” 

Jack swallowed, realising that Ianto wasn't talking about being captured and knocked unconscious. He drew his hand down the crease of Ianto's thigh. He trusted Jack. He had told him as much, and no matter what, Jack couldn't throw away that away. “I promise.” he whispered, before leaning forwards again and taking Ianto in his mouth. 


End file.
